64 
THE TRdPiCAL AGRICULTURfST, 
[July r, 1891. 
lessor Johnstone's paper was to be found. "D." oemuis 
to what I anticipated faw will demnr, that the earth 
was raaiuly created for the support of vegetation. He 
dooB not tell us what his belitf is. I Ihonght it n super- 
flaity to "add, for the use of mau and beast,'' aa that 
is within our daily expi rienoe ; will that disc be rie- 
murred too ? I'eople are so hyporontical ! My idea 
wnB not original but bono wed from Holy Writ. In 
the aooonnt of the creation we road that immodiaiely 
Rftt<r the earth was created it was ordered thnt it 
be clothed with vegetation (Geu. 1 chap. 11 verse.) 
and in thf 29th i^nd 30ih verses that after the creation 
of man and beast, that God gave them the produco 
of the etirlh f thi ir euatenauoe. But " D," may bo 
one ot those learned scientists who cannot reconcile the 
account of the creation with the "Ologiej" in which tliey 
are so deeply versed. If " D. " had shown le.-s alacrity to 
jump at unwarrantable couolnsions and had been less 
lavibh in tlie use of epithets, it would not b>»ve detracted 
from his reputation nor hftvo drawn on his own he.'d 
the epitlieiB levelled at mine. It is both " absurd " 
and " ridiculous," but not " novel ," for " D." to say 
that to prove the value of silica, I said I could not 
reoonoile with nay belief in an all-wise Creator the com- 
position of the oarth with a mineral " decidedly iu- 
lurious " to vegetation. I snid ao to refute th.- theory 
oi his own Professor. I think that eveo " D." and 
"Old Planter" will admit that Mr. John Hught-s, 
the chemist, though not a shining light perhaps, is 
not unknown to the scientific world. He is likely to 
be abreast of Boier tific experiments and would cot 
have been ignorant of those conducted to t-st 
whether silica were indispensable for the growth 
of grass- yet this is what be wro e m November 1887, 
on rice soils:—" The mos. essential thing ic the soil 
itself is that it shou d be in a state of minute sub- 
division so as to pupuly an abuudant source of soluble 
silica which is so necessary iu the formation and ^^c- 
cessful growth of the straw, and wilhoui which it would 
be quite useless to expect to obtain a good crop. « * * 
The best crops of wheat are produced on soils which 
contain pWty of available silica." Xhe foregoi«g to 
show that I ba^'e authority for my belief that sihca is 
useful and not "decidedly iujurioua " to vege.ation, 
" Cnconut Planter's " letter is noteworthy for con- 
taining misrepresentations from beginning to end, 
and for an amusing display of ignorance oi the subject 
of his criticism. He is too honorable a man for me 
to believe that his misrepresentations are wilful. 1 he 
alternative is that they are due to a lamentable care- 
lessness to inform himself correctly ot the views of 
him whom he oris cizes. 
Not being a chemist and not being able to conduct 
experiments personally, in enumeratifig the virtues of 
salt I gave not my own opinion but those of persons com- 
petent to express an opinion. If " Coconut Pinnter 
had but taken the trouble to wade through his volumes 
of th9 Tropical Agriculturist and consult any other 
book on agriculture iu his possession, he would n .t 
have i»id that I sing the virtues of salt on my sole 
authority If he carefully reads his copy ot the 
Aqriculturitt , he would have found in the February 
No. that mankind have not " through all the ages 
been neglecting the most valuable and important of 
all agricultural agents." a i 
In enumerating the virtues of saU,-~the first para 
of his letter, he professes to quote me, but in reality 
misquotes me. Salt does not render tillage superfluous, 
it does not destroy coarse vegetation wlule at the 
same time being beneficial to delicate and useful plants. 
If applied in large qaautities it destroys vegetation 
whether coarse or delicate. Coarse vegetation gener- 
ally indicates a sour soil; salt ia faid to sweeten it 
and help towards the growth of good, sweet her- 
''*To say that because salt can bo purified though 
mixed with any substance, therefore it can exert no 
Chemical influence on the soil, is to go counter to the 
opfn^on of those who are higher authorities on q"es .on« 
o^ ftizrioultural Chc-mistry than " Coconut Planter. 
There is nothing singular in the fact that the mc.s- 
turo salt absorbs is surrendered to hot sun or dry air. 
No 0 .0 to my knowledge credited salt with the quality 
S difconminatiou b(,tweea noxious nud usetal vegeta- 
tion. Coc inut trees on the sea-fhore were not instanced 
as beiug very fruitful owing to receiving an unfailing 
supply of salt. The fruittuluess of the coconut trees 
in the cinnamon gardens was not attrib«ted solely 
to salt breezes. They were «o< iustanoed as cham- 
pion trees. I too am acquainted with spots inland 
where for fruitfulneas coconut trees will compare 
favorably with those in the Cinnamon Gardens; but 
I will hardly call the spot " Coconut Planter " resides 
on " inland." It v/as not asserted that the only way 
to improve coconut properties inland w^s by the 
application of salt, nor that it can supply moisture to 
them during a ' three months' drought, n ^r finally 
that it is a substiimr for nitrates, phoephate-'i aud 
org:!iiio matter. My friend — I call him also friend in 
.'^IJite of " D." — Could not have b°en in his usual mood 
when he penned the letter, which does so little credit 
to bis character for preciseness. Can it be that he 
was temporarily under the influence of the " divine 
afflatus " and became consequently highly imagina- 
tive ? B. 
DRIERS AS WiTHEP.EB3. 
Central Province, June 8t.h. 
De'R Sir, — As regards the use o! a sirocco aa a 
witherer, I sae not the slightest objection to 
using any ot the drying or firing machines as 
witherers, if it can be satis/actorily proved that 
the made tea loses nothing in value. I long ago 
suggested in the Observer the use ot the desiccator 
or any other drying machine as witherers. At 
that time, I had not an opportunily of carrying 
out my own suggealion. Since then, and more 
than two years ago, I proved to my ov.n satisfac- 
tion that the leaf passed quickly through the de- 
siccator came out to all appearance well withered, 
but I was unwilling to risk any quantity as I 
am not much of an expert in tea tasting and I 
was afraid I might spoil a break. Were i pressed 
for space I would have no hesitation now iu pass- 
ing half withered leaf through the desiccator. — 
Yours truly, P. P. 
A Tea Roller Case.— Yesterdiy (Irit) Blessrs. Julius 
and Greasy on behalf of Mr. Wm. Jackson of Aberdeen, 
who is at present in Caylon, tendered a libel in the 
District Court of Colombo against Mr. Alfred Brovfu 
and the Colombo Commercial Company, praying t>v an 
inquestration to restrain the defendants from importing 
mauufacturmg or selling Tes KoUers which the plain- 
tiff claims infringe his patent. — Local " Independent." 
Golden Tips — We stated recently that the prices 
obtained for special parcels of Ceylon tea in London 
had led to a sort of " goldea tips" competition up- 
couatry, and we are assured that some parcels of tea 
are going home now that will make the Gartmore 
prices sink into insignificance; The new Ceylon product 
threatens to be turned out in such quantities that 
every grocer in the United Kingdom will be able to 
have a sample of Cey.on golden tipi in his window, 
purchased for a fabulous price, for advertising pur- 
poses. Our Indian friends meanwhile are getting 
rather re.stive at this method of booming Cej Ion tea. 
We quoted recently the ill-conditioned snarl cf a 
correspondent to the Madras Times, and now we see 
that the Calcutta Englishman pooh-poohs the whole 
thing in the following disparaging terms : — " The 
nominal Or friendly sale of a single pound of tea at 
£11 or £25, or even £200, is not a matter of any 
practical importance. We doubt very much whether in 
will do any good even as an advertisement But Indian 
growers may content themselves with the reflection 
that they also will share whatever advantage may 
come of these so-called sales, for Ceylon is thus 
odverti'ing her own and Indian tea at the same time. 
India has decidedly the best of it, being under no 
necessity of sacrificing a crop for the sake of a fancy 
quotation." This is certainly consoling for Indian 
plaatsre.— Local "Times." 
